Nanosized particles behave differently than those particles made of the same material with larger dimensions. For example, some nanosized particles exhibit different colors, melting temperatures, magnetic properties, and/or electrical properties. Nanosized particles generally exhibit these different attributes due to the particles' increased surface area to bulk material ratio. Any particle with one of its dimensions, such as height, width, or length, in the nano-scale is generally classified as a nanosized particle.
Nanowires are wires with a width in the nanometer scale. Nanowires also exhibit different characteristics than their larger counterparts. For example, electrical conduction in nanowires generally creates less heat than in larger wires of the same material. Further, many nanowires exhibit just discrete values of electrical conductance.